3 jade artworks star at Sotheby's Chinese sale

A trio of jade artworks led Sotheby's Chinese Works of Art sale, which beat its estimate by 73.3%

Three exquisite jade pieces helped Sotheby's Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art auction on its way to a 73.3% increase on estimatein London yesterday (May 16).

The "Land of Immortals" brushpot

The sale realised a total of 12.9m ($20.4m), against an estimate of 6.4m-9.2m ($10.1m-14.5m). It is yet another superb result for Sotheby's,adding to the success of its April Chinese ceramics auctions, which saw a Song dynasty bowl set a new world record of $26.7m. Sotheby's Robert Bradlow commented on the auction: "We are thrilled with the results of today's sale, which follow on from the success of the sales staged by Sotheby's in Hong Kong last month.

"We saw activity from across Asia, and the results demonstrate the continued demand for well-priced superior-quality works of art in this collecting category."The top lot of the sale was a white and russet jade brushpot from the Qing dynasty. The exquisitely carved piece, featuring scenes from the Land of Immortals, made an impressive 1.5m ($2.4m), against an estimate of 250,000-350,000. The sale price translates to a 343.7% increase on estimate for the item. A similar brushpot, made during the Qianlong period of the Qing dynasty, brought 553,250 ($883,153), against a high estimate of 120,000. Another white and russet jade item, this time an understated buffalo carving, saw an increase of 167.3%, when it sold for 668,450 ($1.05m). The buffalo, also from China's Qing dynasty, went to auction with an estimate of 150,000-250,000. The piece came from the "Jersey Jades" collection of the Earl and Countess of Jersey. The auction once again displayed the buying power of investors from China, who have seen the country's art market overtake the US as the world's largest.